Velocity Business Park on East Stow Road in Marlton — Courtesy: NAI Mertz
By Joshua Burd
Velocity Venture Partners has signed three new leases at a recently acquired, 160,000-square-foot flex industrial park in Burlington County, in a series of deals by NAI Mertz.
In the largest among them, Lauda-Brinkmann is taking 20,000 square feet at the Velocity Business Park in the Marlton section of Evesham. The multinational temperature control technology firm, which is based in Germany, committed to a 15-year term for a unit that will include warehouse and office space and two new loading docks.
Also leasing space is Westrock, one of the largest corrugated packaging companies in the U.S., which is taking 15,000 square feet, while Schmid Dewland Associates signed for 5,000 square feet. The latter company, a food service equipment distributor, will use the site as its headquarters and as a warehouse with a demo kitchen for its customers.
NAI Mertz’s Jonathan Klear, Andrew Johnson and Jason Simkins represented ownership in the deals on East Stow Road, which sits just east of Route 73. The team also brokered the deal late last year in which Velocity purchased the five-building complex.
“These three lease deals illustrate the strong demand for flex-industrial space within South Jersey and the appeal of this well-located complex to a wide variety of multinational companies,” said Tony Grelli, Velocity’s founding partner. “We have invested a few million dollars to reposition this five-building portfolio into some of the nicest flex-industrial products in the market. I am thrilled with our progress here just a few months post-acquisition and look forward to working with the NAI Mertz team to finalize our leasing in the remaining 3,000 to 15,000-square-foot units.”
The Philadelphia-based investment firm began renovations the day after closing on the portfolio, according to a news release. Those upgrades include parking lot sealing and striping, signage improvements and exterior painting, along with the fit-out for each new tenant.
Velocity is planning additional enhancements this spring.
“This is a highly desirable business park with an incredible location just off of Highway 73 and Exit 4 of the New Jersey Turnpike,” Klear said. “Velocity Business Park offers a multitude of amenities for its flex tenants including a well-manicured corporate environment, plenty of dining and retail establishments nearby, and a hands-on management team with a significant local presence. These businesses add to the amazing tenant mix at Velocity Business Park, and we look forward to continuing to lease up the remaining space within the complex.”
